Teaching, learning and assessment methods
You will study both modules for the MA entirely online. As this is a distance-learning qualification, it requires considerable amounts of independent study. Most of the learning and communication is done asynchronously, through online teaching materials, forums and email. There will also be a number of online tutorials at key points throughout the programme of study. You will gain knowledge and understanding through study of published and recorded literary texts and performances, and the module&/postgraduate/f71-learning-outcomes/39;s distance-learning materials. You will also benefit from audio-visual materials such as interviews with authors, extracts from books and performances, writing exercises, assignment and project guides, module website resources (including a study planner) and written feedback on assignments. Learning outcomes are assessed by means of assignments: creative writing projects (such as fiction, poetry and drama scripts), reflective commentaries and critical appraisals.
You will develop and practise cognitive skills through study of the module materials, through your further reading and writing practice, and through assessment. These skills are also taught and practised through online tutor-group forum work, detailed written feedback by tutors on assignments and through developing competence in giving and receiving constructive criticism to your fellow students.
Practical and professional skills are taught throughout the programme in a cumulative way. For instance, you will be producing potentially publishable creative work throughout the programme, and part of the peer and tutor assessment will gauge and discuss such work’s position in the literary or media landscape. There is also a &/postgraduate/f71-learning-outcomes/39;writer of the world&/postgraduate/f71-learning-outcomes/39; and professional practice strand in the modules, which covers such elements as media-specific formatting and publishing submission strategies, among other professional issues. This strand will be assessed in various ways. For instance, you will be asked to research markets and write approach letters along with synopses of your writing projects.
Peer review – the sharing and critiquing of work, also known as workshopping – is a foundational element of creative writing, and features on most academic courses in the subject. On this qualification, you will submit your work for review by your peers online; in turn, you will review their writing. This crucial aspect is assessed in both modules of the MA programme.
Skills in digital and information literacy will be addressed through module assignments where, for instance, research for creative projects is assessed, alongside contextual reading and understanding of the creative process. You will be developing IT and information literacy skills by, for instance, using the OU library’s e-resources which include databases, ejournals and ebooks, and by participating in a variety of online activities such as asynchronous forums and workshops, and live tutorials. These activities will figure directly and indirectly in assessment. In this way, throughout the programme, you will acquire numerous skills valued by employers, such as critical and independent thinking, analysis, creativity, problem solving and communication.
Many of the activities and assignments on the MA will have reflective components which invite you to consider your own learning and development. This will feed readily into ongoing personal development planning. These reflective activities will run throughout the programme of study, accompanying all formative and summative assessment of creative work. Such reflections will range from responding to tutor and peer feedback on a specific project, to considering feedback on a project proposal, to reflecting on your overall progress and development as a writer.